Process for purification of laundry waste



Aug. 29, 1939. o. M. URBAIN E1'- AL PROCESS FOR- PURIFICATION OF LAUNDRY WASTE Filed Feb. 13, 1937 Patented' Aug. 29, 1939 UNITED STATES 2,171,199 PROCESS FOR PURWIFAICATION F LAUNDRY STE Oliver M. Urbain and William It. Stemen, Columbus, Ohio, assignors to Charles H. Lewis, Harpster, Ohio Application February 13, 1937, Serial No. 125,667

8 Claims.

'This invention relates to a process for the purication of laundry waste and has for its ob- 4ject the provision of a simple and advantageous process through the medium of which the highly 5 putrescible waste from laundries can be completely puried and an eiliuent obtained in the form of sparkling clear water that may be either reused in the laundry or directly -discharged into the receiving stream since it presents no further contaminating problem.

To the end that the purposes and objects of the invention may be made more clear'ly apparent, brief reference to the nature of the problem will first be made. The water used for laundry purposes is first softened usually by either thezeolite'method or the lime-soda-ash method. A water having a zero hardness content is to be desired since the l lower the hardness content, the greater the saving in lsoap costs, which represent one of the largest items of expense in the operation of power laundries, exclusive of course Aof the cost of labor.

'I'he materials washed in a laundry are usually run through from four to six progressive changes of suds, which constitutes the actual washing operation. After this treatment of the materials in the suds, they are run through from five to seven progressive changes of rinse water; The temperature of the suds water is usually maintained around 160 F. while the temperature of the rinse water is ordinarily around 150 F.

In addition tothe soaps employed in the formation of the suds, so-called soap builders are also employed to aid the soaps in removing the dirt from the materials washed. The soap builders are alkaline in reaction and usually consist of sodium silicate, trisodium phosphate-sodium carbonate, or like materials. washed require bleaching, a small quantity of such bleaching agents as sodium hypochlorite or sodium fluoride is added. Small quantities ofA aniline and starch are also usually employed inboth the washing and the rinsing steps.

From the foregoing it is evident that .the laundry waste carries a great variety of substances, both organic and inorganic. In .addition to all of the soaps and chemicals that are'employed in the washing and rinsing operations, the waste also contains the dirt removed from the material washed as well as a multitude of various types of bacteria. Roughly,v about of the waste waters discharged by laundries originates from the washing or suds solution while the remaining I C55% originates inthe rinsing operation.

When the materials The wash waters or suds usually contain from 0.25 gram to.5.0 grams of fatty acids per liter. Fatty acids are, of course, present in the form of sodium or potassium salts, that is, in the form of soaps. Besides the soaps, the waste also contains the so-called soap builders, free alkali, dirt of 5 many descriptions, dyes, greases, starch, carbohydrates, lint, and other cellulosic materials, as well as many types of bacteria including some pathogenic varieties.

The hydrogen ion concentration of the `suds- 10 waters expressed in terms of the pH scale varies from around pH 8.1 to pH 13.8, while the pH' of the rinse waters will vary from around pH 7.0 to pH 8.6. The yten-day biological oxygen demand of a typical laundry waste will vary from 220 parts per million to 900 parts per million. The waste, it will therefore be appreciated, is of a highly putrescible character and constitutes a serious problem in the successful operation of a municipal sewage treating plant operating on 20 biological principles. In fact laundry waste presents such a serious problem that in many cities noattempt is made to treat the same in the sewage disposal plant. I

Soaps exist in the laundry waste in the form 25 of semi-colloids. Thesesoaps hydrolyze rather freely even in strong solutions. When one makesh an ultrailltration of a soap solution, the fatty acidform'ed as a result of hydrolysis of the soap will passfreely through -the colloidal membrane while the unhydrolyzed soap portion is -retained on the membrane. This establishes the fact that the soaps do hydrolyze freely and that they do `exist in solution as semi-colloids.' Additionally 35 the soaps in the laundry waste act as protective colloids, stabilizing iine suspensions which otherwise would not exhibit colloidal properties. In other words, the soaps peptize other substances and thus materially complicate thel colloidal 40' structure of the waste. Y

It is, therefore,'evident that when the soaps are removed from laundry waste, the colloidal structure of the waste is more or less completely v shattered since the soaps constitute a. stabilizing 45 factor controlling the entire colloidal structure of the waste. I

The present process is concerned with effecting hydrolysis of the soaps to free their fatty acid content and to then remove the fatty acids' from 50 the waste, thus destroying the stabilizing factor due to the presence of the soap, and finally revmoving the remaining organic mattez-.from the Waste.

(Joining now to a description of our process,

reference will be made, for purposes of clarification, to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic flow chart illustrating the manner of carrying out the process; and

Figure 2 is a detail diagrammatic illustration of an appropriate construction for use in the principal fllteringsteps of the process.

Inasmuch as it is necessary to eifect hydrolysis of the soaps in the laundry waste in order to free the fatty acid content thereof, we will rst briefly refer to this procedure. When a dilute acid, such for example as dilute hydrochloric acid, is added to laundry waste, the fatty acids are released from the soaps in accordance with the general reaction which follows:

R.COO.Na-|HCl- R.COOH+NaCl Soap Fatty acid A specific example of the general reaction above is given as follows:

C11H35.COO.Na|HC1 C17H35.COOH-l-NaCl Sodium stearate Stearic acid The above reactions take place at all pHs below pH 7 .0 but even at pHs above pH '7.0 the soaps hydrolyze according to the following general reaction:

R.COO.Na+H20.- R.COOH+NaOH Soap Fatty acid It should be noted that this reaction is of. the reversible type. If the fatty acid formed on the right is removed, the hydrolysis of the soap will proceed to completion. In other words, as' long as the pressure is eliminated from the right side of the reaction, it will continue to move to the right.

A specic example of the hydrolysis of a soap is given in the following reaction:

Sodium palmitate Palmitic acid In accordance with our process, we effect removal of the fatty acids as fast as released from the soaps by hydrolysis so that the hydrolysis reaction continues to completion.

Referring now to Figure 1, the laundry waste is first supplied through the line l to a suitable screening unit 2 of conventional design to remove solids therefrom. From the screening unit 2, the waste is passed through the line 3, 3 to one of the alternate parallel sand filters 4, 4', also of conventional form, wherein additional solids are removed from the waste to prevent fouling of the subsequent filters. The sand'lters 4, 4 are adapted to be alternately employed, and a water line 5 with suitable'connections 6 and 1 is provided for back-washing the sand filter not in use. From the sand lter 4 or 4', the waste freed from the solids removed by the screening unit 2 and the i sand lter is thence passed through the line 8 or 8 to the fatty acid removing filter 9 or 9'. The cross connection l0 between the lines 8 and 8 and the valves II provide for selective passage of the waste from either sand lter 4 or 4 to either of the filters 9 or 9.

The nature of the filtering medium employed for removing the fatty acids constitutes an im- -portant feature of the presentinvention. In thev present process, the filtering medium employed in the filters 9 and 9' for e'ectingremoval of the fatty acids released from the soaps as a result of hydrolysis due to the addition of the dilute acid through the line designated I2 comprises the hydrous oxides employed at or below their individual iso-electric points. We have ascertained that all hydrous oxides will function satisfactorily in the present process when prepared at or below their iso-electric points.

In the claims, we have employed the term hydrous oxides at or below their isoelectric points to define the nature of vthe hydrous oxides utilized in our process. It is to be understood that this term refers to hydrous oxides prepared at or below their isoelectric points, and -that the operation of the process is not, therefore, limited to solutions having hydrogen ion concentrations at or below the isoelectric points of the hydrous oxides.

Hydrous oxides are colloidal materials formed by the hydrolysis of heavy metal salts. Some divalent metal salts will hydrolyze to give anhydrous oxides, but all di-valent metal salts do not so act. All of the tri-valent metal salts do hydrolyze to give hydrous oxides as well as all higher valent metals. In our process we prefer to employ the tri-valent metal salts having a negative atom or radical with a valence of one, such, for example, as ferric chloride, nitrate or acetate, or stannic chloride or titanium, antimony or cesium chlorides.

To produce the hydrous oxides and lower them to their iso-electric points is a comparatively simple procedure. The general reaction for the hydrolysis of a heavy metal salt is given'as follows:

nMAz-l-nHzO-m [xM(OH) 2.31MA-2] -l-nHA in which- M=a heavy metal :a number equivalent to the valence of M n=a whole number4 A=a negative atom or radical A specific example of the hydrolysis of a heavy metal salt is given as follows:

'I'he numerical values for :l: and y in both reactions given above will vary with the pH of the hydrolysis medium. As the pH of the medium increases above pH 7.0, the value of .r increases and the value of y decreases, and as the pH of the medium decreases below pH '7.0,v the value of x decreases and the value of y increases. At pH 11.5 the value of y is zero, and at pH 2.5 the value of :z: is zero.

From the above reactions it is seen that the hydrous oxides are either adsorption products or addition compounds. f

For purposes of illustration, theiso-electric points of a few of the hydrous oxides are listed `After the charge on the hydrous oxides has been neutralized to bring them to their iso-electric point, it isimpossible to recharge these materials by manipulation of the hydrogen ion concentration of the medium. 'Ihis is the reason for employing the same at or below the iso-electric point.

For purposes of illustration, we will describe the tol preparation of a filtering medium for removal of the fatty acids in which we employ hydrous ferric oxide since it is an especially economical one of the hydrous oxides available for use in our process. It is to be understood that precisely the same procedure may be followed in preparing the filtering medium when employing any of the other hydrous oxides. l

The carrier for the hydrous oxide employed will preferably constitute either hard coke or magnesia silicate brick. Both of these materials have an enormous surface area andare both extremely porous and relatively inert chemically. Additionally they will both withstand high temperatures and. yet maintain their physical structures. The filtering medium for use in our process is preferably in the form of a granular mass, the individual granules of whichwill pass a five-mesh screen and be retained upon a twenty-mesh screen.

To obtain the filtering vmedium impregnated with and carrying the hydrous oxide, the carrier is pickled in a concentrated solution of ferrie chloride, for example, until thoroughly saturated. The excess reagent is then drawn off, and the granulated mass is passed through an atmosphere of ammonia without drying, and in this manner the hydrous oxide is brought down to its isoelectric point or below. It will be appreciated that at this point the granular carrier is thoroughly impregnated with hydrous ferric oxide. The mass is then dried in a current of warm air at about 120 C. to set the oxide. The filtering material is then ready for use.

It Will thus be observed that the filtering agent in the filters 9 and 9 is made up of a granular carrying material impregnated with the hydrous oxide. either the filter 9 or 9', which has been charged with the filtering material carrying the hydrous oxide as hereinbefore described, the fatty acids are removed from the waste through the mechanism of b'oth anion exchange and sorption. When the filtering medium becomes saturated with fatty acids, it can be readily regenerated by passing hot steam through the filtering material.- The regeneration of the lter is complete within a short time, and there is little or no loss of the filtering medium in the process. The filtering medium is vvery effective in removing the.

fatty acid content from the waste and is inexpensive to prepare.

In .the drawing we have disclosed a steam line I3 having connections It and I4 for supplying steam to the. filters 9 and 9', respectively, for the purpose of driving out the fatty acids. The steam carrying the fatty acids passesthrough the filters 9 and 9', through the lines I5 and I5 respectively to a suitable condenser I6, and thence to a receiver I1 and finally to an evaporator I9 wherein the water may be separated and the fatty acids recovered.

Returning now tothe remaining waste constituting the ltrate leaving the filters 9 and 9', this fatty acid free material is next passed through the line 48 or 49 to the chlorinated coal filter I9 or I9', a cross connection 29 and suitable valves 2I permitting alternateuse of lthe filters I9 and I 9.

The chlorinated coal constituting the filtering,`

medium with which the filters I9 and I9' are charged may be prepared in accordance with the teachings contained in United States Patent No.

2,029,962, issued to us on February 4, 1936. The chlorinated coal filter functions to remove the remaining organic polluting substances from the When laundry Waste is passed through waste. The steam line I3 is provided with an extension 22 and connections 23, 23 for supplying steam to the filters I9 and I9 for purposes of regenerating theselters. The filtrate from filters I9 and I9' constitutes a completely purified eiiluent and is discharged through the lines 24 or 24 either to the sewer or for recirculation as a fresh water supply to the laundry.

The steam which is introduced to the filters I9 and I9 for -the purpose of regenerating the same passes out through the lines 25 or 25 to a suitable condenser26, and the resultant water carrying the organic matter and substances removed from the lters i9 and. I9 is discharged v into a suitable sump 2'I where it may besubjectcd to further treatment and from where, after a time period of oxidation, it may also be discharged into the sewer since it will no longer have any substantial biochemical oxygen demand.

It .is not believed necessary to a thorough understanding of the process to disclose specific apparatus structures since all of the various apparatus elements are of conventional design. The filters 9, 9', I9, and I9' may all be of identical construction. For purposes of illustration, an appropriate filter construction which may be 4employed for these four filters is shown in Figure 2 wherein the main filter chamber 29 is a sheet metal container and is provided with an interior grate 29 supported by suitable supports 99 and carrying theltering medium 3i. The waste is adapted to be supplied through the line 32 controlled by the valve 33, and the nitrate is discharged through the line if! and thence through the branch line 35 controlled by a suitable valve 39. A steam line 9? provided with a perforated extension te extends into the bottom of the chamber 29 and serves to supply steam for the regeneration of the filtering medium. yThe steam carrying the fatty acids remaining in the filters 9 or 9' and the organic substances removed from the chlorinated coal filters I9 and I9 may pass out throughv the line 39 controlled by `a suitable valve 99 to the condenser 9i.

In the case of the filters 9 and 9', the condenser 9| may discharge through a line 92 controlled by a suitable valve d3 into an appropriate evaporator Mi for recovery of the fatty acids. Additionally, during the time the steam is supplied, some condensation may occur in the filtering medium 9i carrying with it recoverable fatty acids. This condensate may, by closing the valve 99 and opening valve 45, be supplied through the branch line 96 to the evaporator along with the condensate from the condenser 4I.

It will be understood that the invention of the present application is a process and that the apparatus is merely diagrammatically illustrated for the purpose of lending clarification to the description of the process and that the invention is not to be limited to the employment of any particulary apparatus.

densers for handling the steam and contained substances issuing from the filter chambers 9, 9', I9,- and I9 need not be excessively large, for a' four feet in diameter .can be produced at a minimum cost. The conlaundry discharging up to fifty thousand gallons of Waste per day, since the condensates taken olf from these filters will not exceed around four hundred gallons each.

The fatty acids recovered as an incident to the process render the purification process a protvable procedure rather than an economic burden.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is illustrative only and is not to be considered in alimiting sense, the invention being comprehended by the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim is:

1. A process for purifying laundry waste comprising initially removing suspended solids from the waste, effecting hydrolysis of the soap solution, passing the solution through a lter charged with an hydrous oxide at or below its isoelectric point to remove through chemical reaction the fatty acids freed by the hydrolysis, and then passing the fatty acid free solution through a chlorinated coal yfilter to elect removal of remaining organic matter therefrom.

2. A process for purifying laundry Waste comprising screening and filtering the Waste to remove solids, adding a dilute acid capable of effecting hydrolysis of the soap solution, passing the solution through a filter charged with `an hydrous oxide at or below its isoelectric point to remove through chemical reaction fatty acids as freed by the hydrolysis reaction, then subjecting the fatty acid free solution to the action of chlorinated coal to remove further organic compounds, and finally discharging the puried eiliuent.

3.' A process for purifying laundry Waste comprising first removing solids from the Waste, hydrolyzing the soap solution in the Waste, effecting chemical removal of fatty acids by passing the waste through a filter charged with an hydrous oxide at or below its isoelectric point, and thereafter passing the Waste through a filter charged with chlorinated coal.

4. A process for purifying laundry Waste comprising passing the Waste through instrumentalities capable of physically separating solids therefrom, hydrolyzing the soap solution contained therein, effecting chemical removal of fatty acids by passing the waste through a lter composed of inert granular material charged with an hydrous oxide at or below its isoelectric point, and nally passing the solution through a second lter containing chlorinated coal.

5. A process for purifying laundry Waste comprising initially removing suspended solids from the Waste, effecting hydrolysis of the soap solution, passing the solution through a filter charged with hydrous ferrie oxide at or below its isoelectric point to chemically remove the fatty acids freed by the hydrolysis, and thence passing the fatty acid free solution through a chlorinated coal filter to effect removal of. remaining organic matter therefrom.

6. A process for purifying laundry Waste comprising initially removing suspended solids from the Waste, effecting hydrolysisof the soap solu- 'tion, passing the solution through a filter charged with hydrous stannic oxide at or below low their isoelectric points, and removing soluble organic impurities by means of'. chlorinated coal.

8.- A process for removing organic and inorganic impurities from laundry waste comprising the steps of acidifying to hydrolyze the soap solution, filtering to remove solid materials, contacting with hydrous oxides at or below their isoelectric points to chemically remove fatty acids therefrom, and filtering through chlorinated coal to remove soluble organic impurities.

OLIVER M. URBAIN. WILLIAM R; STEMEN.

'its isoelectric point to chemically remove the 

